Love and Other Drugs
by Wineandpizzaclub
Summary: Sherlock Holmes disregards Molly Hooper at every opportunity. When Molly gets offered a new job that takes her away from London, Sherlock is forced to confront his feelings towards her. Starts from His Last Vow.
1. Chapter 1

"Is he clean?" John looked hopefully at Molly.

"Clean?"

The hurt in her eyes confirmed John's suspicions that Sherlock had indeed taken drugs again.

Molly walked up to Sherlock and slapped him hard across the face.

Once.

Twice.

A third time with her other hand.

"How dare you throw away the beautiful gifts you were born with and how dare you betray the love of your friends, say you're sorry."

Sherlock could see the pain written on her face but the harsh words still escaped his mouth.

"Sorry your engagement's over though I'm fairly grateful for the lack of a ring," he said spitefully as he rubbed his cheek still stinging from the slap.

"Stop it. Just. Stop it."

Molly had never stood up to Sherlock before and he considered apologising properly. He was not given the chance, however, before John was at his side uttering concern over how he should have called.

Not that Sherlock was paying attention.

He shrugged John away and turned his attention to the other addict in the room currently deducing his best friend. The conversation soon bored Sherlock and a text with more interesting information pulled his attention out of the lab.

* * *

When Sherlock was finally left alone that evening, his thoughts turned to Molly and the way she had reacted to his return to drug use. Shy, quiet, unassuming Molly had shouted at Sherlock and when he retorted in his usual cruel manner she had stood her ground.

Sherlock mentally berated himself for not regarding her more highly and made a note in his mind palace to do so in future.

* * *

It was two days later when Molly was pulled into the office of her boss, Mike Stamford. She panicked, thinking she was yet again in trouble for allowing Sherlock to borrow body parts. But this was not the case as Molly was soon to find out.

"A promotion!" Molly exclaimed.

"Yes, congratulations Molly, it is well deserved. I'll take your excitement as acceptance of the job? I must say I wasn't sure you'd be so keen to leave. We'll all miss you but it is a fantastic opportunity nonetheless."

"I'm sorry, did you just say leave?"

In her excitement, Molly had lost concentration on what Mike was saying and missed the very crucial detail that the job she was being offered was not in Barts. It wasn't even in London.

"Bristol? I can't move to Bristol! I have a life here in London with friends and... my cat Toby and…"

 _Sherlock._

She shook away that thought as she recalled their last encounter when she had found out he was taking drugs again and the way he callously insulted her.

It dawned on Molly that there really wasn't a lot anchoring her to London and the prospect of starting fresh in a new city with an even better job was surprisingly appealing.

 _This is it_ , she thought, _I'm finally going to get over Sherlock Holmes and move on with my life._

"Mike, I'll take the job."


	2. Chapter 2

Molly returned to the Morgue with her head spinning. She was torn between being excited over her new job and sad at the thought of leaving everyone she had come to love behind.

As if on cue, she felt the eyes of one of the those people on her as soon as she entered the cold, grey room. Looking up confirmed it be the world's only Consulting Detective, the ever-beautiful Sherlock Holmes.

"Ah Molly, I-"

He froze.

Molly knew he sensed a change in her mood and was analysing the cause of it.

A look of realisation fell on his features and she could have sworn he almost flashed a smile before returning to his usual stony gaze.

"I believe congratulations are in order Molly. You've just received good news and judging by the fact you have just come from the direction of your boss's office, I'd say you've been offered a promotion, and yet…" his eyes narrowed on her, "you look conflicted, was the offer not to your liking?"

"Oh no, it was very much to my liking, so much so that I accepted" Molly looked up at him, "it's just that… the job is…"

"The job is what?"

"It's not… at Barts" she finished quietly, waiting for his response.

"I see," he paused, "well, that is of mild inconvenience as I have become familiar with the route to and from here and 221B but I suppose it would not take long to become accustomed to another hospital. I presume it is not too far away?"

"Well, actually-"

She was cut off by the entrance of John and he smiled upon seeing her.

"Molly," he nodded in her direction before stopping next to his friend who was now staring at him irritably.

"What? What have I done?" The doctor looked between the detective and the pathologist.

"You interrupted Molly telling me about her new job," Sherlock sighed.

"New job? Congratulations Molly! Are you leaving Barts?"

"Thank you John. Ah, well, yes, the job is in… erm," she coughed, "Bristol."

The pair stared at her silently.

John quickly recovered and smiled at her. "Bristol, wow! Have you accepted?"

Sherlock still hadn't moved.

"I… erm… yes, I have."

Something flashed in Sherlock's eyes before he turned on his heels and swept out of the room.

"Sherlock!" John shouted after him. "Sorry Molly, he probably just remembered something. I'd better go, congratulations again."

"Thanks John" Molly uttered, perplexed by Sherlock's quick exit.

And with that, the doctor was gone as well.

* * *

John caught Sherlock getting into a taxi and jumped in just in time.

"Sherlock, what was that?"

"What was what?" he drawled, already bored with the tedious conversation.

"You running off like that when Molly was speaking to us, we've discussed this, it's rude."

"I'm not a child John!" he snapped.

"Well then stop acting like one!" John retorted.

Sherlock ignored his friend and sighed dramatically, rolling his eyes.

John thought back to their conversation with Molly in an attempt to figure out what had annoyed his friend.

 _Molly announced she had been offered a job in Bristol and had accepted. Molly was leaving…_

John turned to look at Sherlock, now staring out of the other window with a frown on his face.

"Stop thinking so hard John, you'll tire yourself out."

"Are you upset that Molly is leaving?"

"No, of course not!" He replied far too quickly and loudly to convince even himself.

John smirked and looked away.

 _We'll see about that_ , he thought, as a plan formed in his mind.


	3. Chapter 3

"A surprise party?" Sherlock questioned. "It's hardly a surprise if I know about it."

"It's a surprise party _for Molly_ ," John sighed, knowing his friend would not be fond of the idea.

"Why?"

"Because she is leaving and it would be nice for all of us to be together to say goodbye properly." He emphasised the last part for Sherlock's benefit.

"You still think it bothers me that she is leaving." It was a statement, rather than a question.

"It does." Another statement.

"Molly Hooper is a very competent pathologist and it will be of great inconvenience to me to find someone else of that calibre who is willing to give me body parts for my experiments. That is all."

"Oh, so you're not going to miss her?"

"No." Sherlock lied.

"Just her body parts?"

"Yes. What? No. John, don't twist my words. I refuse to play your silly game."

John laughed to himself as Sherlock glared daggers in return.

* * *

Mrs Hudson thought it was a lovely idea to throw a party for Molly and agreed to bring some food. As did Mary, who said she would tidy and decorate 221B as much as was humanly possible, and Lestrade, who offered copious amounts of alcohol before John insisted that he had it covered. The only person left to be informed was Molly herself.

Despite insisting he was against the gathering, Sherlock had come up with a number of elaborate ideas, many of which bordered on kidnapping, as to how they would convince Molly to turn up at 221B dressed for a party without suspecting anything.

"We'll just tell her that we want to go for a few drinks but to meet here first," John sighed after Sherlock had come up with yet another far-fetched plan to lead the pathologist to Baker Street.

"She'll see right through that!"

"Sherlock, it's fine."

"No John, if you want this to be convincing, you need to come up with a suitable backstory as to why-"

"SHERLOCK!"

The detective stopped and frowned at the doctor.

"You're putting an awful lot of thought into this for someone who doesn't even want to throw this party."

"I'm not throwing the party, you are."

"You know what I mean."

Sherlock turned to pick up his violin, avoiding the conversation.

"Just admit you don't want her to leave," John shouted over the sound of the instrument.

"I will not!" he replied stubbornly.

* * *

Sherlock knew exactly why he was refusing to acknowledge Molly's fast approaching departure. Since Molly had assisted Sherlock in faking his death, he had grown very fond of the small pathologist and as much as it pained him to admit, he really couldn't bear the thought of losing her.

Sherlock hadn't talked to Molly in the past few weeks since she announced she was leaving London and he missed her terribly, more than he had realised until he allowed his mind to drift to her section of his mind palace.

He knew the party John was throwing was his last chance to make things right with her before she left.

 _Last chance to make her stay more like_ , his thoughts argued with him.

"Shut up!"

"I didn't say anything," John replied.

Sherlock looked up, confused.

He was now in his chair with the doctor sitting opposite him.

 _How long have I been here?_ He wondered.

Reading his thoughts, John informed him that he had not spoken in the last two hours.

 _Two hours?! He had been daydreaming about Molly Hooper for two hours?! Oh, this was not good._


	4. Chapter 4

Sherlock had been pacing his bedroom for longer than he could remember.

He was troubled. He could not get her out of his head. The way she smiled at him whenever he said something clever, the way she always offered to help him when-

 _No! Enough._ He shook the thoughts away.

He knew he should erase her from his mind palace when she left. It was illogical to retain information on someone who would no longer be in his life. And yet, he knew deep down that he could never bring himself to go through with it.

It alarmed him how many little pieces of information about her had edged their way into his head.

 _Caring is not an advantage._

Mycroft's words seared in his mind as he threw himself down onto his bed in exasperation.

* * *

The party was only two days away and he was no closer to deciding how he was going to handle what John now referred to as _The Molly Problem_ , much to Sherlock's annoyance.

He hadn't slept in days, he was barely eating and anytime anyone tried to talk to him, he would snap at them.

"Man, he's got it bad, hasn't he?" Lestrade whispered to John as they observed the detective from the kitchen.

"He's been like this for days, worst I've seen him in a while. Still won't admit it though."

Lestrade laughed at the stubborn man and said his goodbyes to the doctor.

John walked over to stand in front of Sherlock who was slumped in his chair, looking dishevelled and utterly exhausted.

When Sherlock didn't look up, John coughed to make his presence known.

"What do you want John?"

"Get up."

Sherlock raised his head and frowned at his friend.

"Excuse me?"

"I said get up. You've been moping around this flat for weeks now. Get showered and dressed."

"Why?"

"Because we're going to pay Miss Hooper a visit."

" _Doctor_ Hooper," he corrected, "and no John, we're not."

"YES, SHERLOCK, WE ARE!" John shouted louder than he had intended but it had the desired effect when Sherlock locked eyes with him and saw how serious he was. He sighed dramatically and sulked his way to the bathroom to get ready.

When he emerged a short while later, John couldn't help but notice he was wearing his best shirt. _Funny that._

"Ready?" he smirked.

"Yes, although I'd prefer if you didn't have that stupid grin on your face," Sherlock retorted.

* * *

The taxi ride was tense to say the least.

Sherlock's mind was racing. He had not seen Molly in nearly a month and was unsure how she would react to seeing him after his rude exit from their last meeting.

They arrived at the hospital shortly after and found Molly in the lab, working at a microscope. John greeted Molly warmly while Sherlock stood back, waiting for her to see him.

"Hi John. Oh, Sherlock, I didn't expect to see you today. I thought you were avoiding me." she said cautiously.

"What? Why would you think that?"

"Because you've not been in for weeks. You keep sending John in to pick up experiments for you."

"Yes, well…" he faltered, "I've been busy."

He caught John frown out of the corner of his eye and hoped Molly had not seen. He looked back at her and found her staring at him before turning away, blushing. Sherlock observed her with a small smile, taking this opportunity to stare at her in return.

John coughed, reminding both of them he was still there.

"Molly, the reason we're here is to ask if you'd like to come out for a few drinks on Friday, as a sort of farewell?" he explained.

"That sounds lovely John, thank you!"

"Great, why don't you come to ours first, shall we say 7pm?"

"I'll be there," she smiled.

"Excellent, we look forward to it!" Sherlock replied in an uncharacteristically joyous tone before swooping out of the lab in his usual haste.

Molly and John looked at each other with puzzled expressions before John followed after his friend, sighing apologetically to the pathologist.

"See you Friday Molly," he said on his way out.

Molly smiled and waved goodbye as the doors swung shut on yet another strange encounter with Sherlock Holmes.


	5. Chapter 5

The day of the party finally arrived and Mary and John were cleaning the flat and decorating with fairy lights while Sherlock watched sullenly from his chair.

"Is all of this really necessary?" he grumbled, "Mrs Hudson has already made me move my experiments so that she can use the kitchen table for _food_." He turned his nose up in annoyance at the latter word.

"For the hundredth time, yes it is and it would be over much sooner if you would help instead of complaining." John looked over at the detective who stared at him blankly, got up and walked swiftly to his bedroom.

John sighed as Mary simply rolled her eyes and continued putting up the good luck banner.

* * *

Molly approached Baker Street wearing her favourite dress and brand new heels that she could barely walk in.

 _Not that he'll notice,_ her mind mocked her.

Composing herself, she reached up to knock on the door, mentally preparing for her last evening in the company of her favourite consulting detective.

* * *

Sherlock did not emerge from his room until he heard the knock at the door and subsequent footsteps down the stairs to answer it. Moving into the hallway, he heard John invite Molly in and inform her that they would not in fact be going out. As they climbed the stairs, Sherlock could hear Molly's heels on the wooden floor.

 _She's made an effort_ , he smiled to himself.

John and Molly reached the top and walked into the living room where she was greeted by Mrs Hudson, Mary and Lestrade shouting "Surprise!"

"Oh, this is so lovely, thank you!" She smiled at them all gratefully, but couldn't help notice the lack of a certain someone's presence.

She set her bag down and removed her coat as John went to the kitchen to grab her a drink.

 _Wow, she has made an effort_ , Sherlock observed her before moving closer into view.

"Ah Sherlock, there you are, just in time," John spotted his friend lingering in the shadows.

Molly turned on hearing his name and smiled shyly at the detective who was now staring intently at her.

"Molly, you look…"

She took a deep breath, waiting for the insult.

"Very nice," he finished.

The entire room looked at him in astonished silence.

"Thank you Sherlock," Molly quietly managed before accepting a drink from a very confused looking John Watson.

* * *

The evening went pleasantly with everyone chatting freely and enjoying each other's company. Sherlock was the quietest, speaking only occasionally when someone would ask him a question about a case. He was content in simply observing his friends, one more so than the others.

Molly could feel his eyes on her but for once did not feel scrutinised by him. She looked up and caught his gaze, holding it for a few seconds before smiling and turning back to concentrate on the story Lestrade was now telling. He knew she wasn't really listening, her mind was elsewhere, much like his own.

The conversation soon turned to Molly leaving which caught Sherlock's attention.

"So have you found somewhere to live yet?" Mary was asking the pathologist.

"I have an aunt who lives in Bristol so I'm going to stay with her for a while until I find somewhere more permanent," she explained.

"Oh that's handy," Mary replied.

Sherlock could feel himself getting worked up as he stared at the small woman now telling the group how excited she was to start her new job.

"It's bittersweet though," she continued, "leaving you all behind."

She flashed a glance at Sherlock which did not go unnoticed by the detective, his anger leaving him in an instant.

He suddenly felt very hot and was aware of his pulse increasing.

Feeling overwhelmed, he rose from his chair, uttering a quick "excuse me" before practically running from the room.

The awkward silence that followed was only brief as John started up the conversation again, drawing attention away from his friend's departure.

* * *

The evening began to draw to a close as Lestrade and Mrs Hudson made their excuses about having to be up early in the morning, each of them wishing Molly luck in her new adventure and promising to keep in touch.

When Mary got up to take the empty glasses to the kitchen, John leaned over to Molly and asked if she wouldn't mind checking on Sherlock.

"Me?" her eyes widened.

"Yes, I think he'd be more comfortable saying goodbye to you on his own, if you know what I mean."

The realisation of what John was saying caused a pang in Molly's heart.

 _This is it_ , she thought, _time to say goodbye to the love of my life_.

She nodded at John and took a deep breath before standing up and walking slowly towards Sherlock's bedroom.


	6. Chapter 6

Her heart was pounding in her chest as she approached the door and paused in front of it. Lifting her hand, she knocked lightly and waited for an answer.

"Come in."

She opened the door to find him standing at the other side of the room with his back to her.

"So this is it," he turned to face her, "you've come to say goodbye."

Molly was silent, tears threatening.

"You look sad," he observed, "you once told me I looked sad when I thought no one could see me. But you saw me, and now I can see you."

A single tear fell down her cheek and she looked away.

He was at her side in an instant.

"Molly, I..."

She peered up at him.

"I am not good with emotional declarations."

He moved closer, eyes locked on her own, and leaned down as her breath hitched.

As was their tradition, Sherlock placed a gentle kiss on her cheek, lingering longer than previous occasions.

He pulled back to find her eyes closed and a sad smile on her face.

His gaze ghosted down to her lips, struggling to keep his feelings in check.

When she opened her eyes she found him looking down at her with intent. Her breathing was becoming laboured and the detective could see the effect he was having on her, making it even more difficult for him to keep a slight distance between them.

They stared at each other for a long moment, the longing in her eyes almost breaking his self-control.

He straightened up, taking a deep breath and gathering his thoughts.

"Goodbye Molly Hooper. I hope you'll be truly happy."

He was smiling but his eyes gave him away.

The pathologist shook her head.

"Say the words and I'll stay," she whispered, not daring to look him in the eye.

His features showed his obvious conflict. While his mind told him that he was doing the right thing by letting her go, his heart was breaking.

She watched him, understanding the internal struggle he was experiencing, hoping he would make the decision she wished for.

She waited in anticipation.

 _Nothing._

She looked down, attempting to hide the hurt written all over her face.

 _What did you expect?_

Eventually, she gazed up and managed a pained smile that destroyed the final ounce of restraint that Sherlock had left.

"Goodbye Sherlock." It was a whisper at best.

She turned to leave but a hand on her wrist stopped her in her tracks.

He drew her back but she barely had time to register what was happening before his lips were on hers and his arms were around her waist, pulling her closer. She responded immediately, deepening the kiss and bringing her hands up to his hair, eliciting a gentle moan from the consulting detective.

When they finally broke for air, both of their pupils were blown wide and Sherlock's hair was ruffled from the attention Molly had paid to it.

He rested his forehead on hers as they caught their breaths, causing her to grin as she stared up at the only man she ever loved.

Neither Sherlock nor Molly ever admitted to their friends what happened in Sherlock's bedroom that evening but suffice to say, Molly never went to Bristol.


End file.
